If you attend Oakville High School then you have probably seen the broadcast show, “Eyes on the Tigers: Channel 97 News.” It is a popular program with the students which has been nominated for a national award with the Journalism Education Association (JEA) and the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA).
OHS is a finalist for the Broadcast Pacemaker award. It is a national prize for the school with the best broadcast in each category.
“If you’re nominated for a Pacemaker it’s a pretty big deal,” says Mr. Jeff Kuchno, Oakville’s journalism sponsor.
Oakville broadcast program has also been popular with the judges. For the last two years at the fall National Journalism Convention, Channel 97 News was submitted to the Best of Show contest and placed both years. Those who place in the Best of Show are considered in the top 10 of the convention. Because of that, Mr. Kuchno decided to enter their broadcast in the national Broadcast Pacemaker contest for monthly programs. There are only five finalists and Oakville is one of them, which means that they have already won a national award.
This isn’t the first time that Oakville has been nominated for a Pacemaker award. Last spring, Oakville was nominated for their 2011 “Tiger Paw” digital yearbook in the digital yearbook category. Oakville was one of the three digital yearbooks in the country that won a Pacemaker; it was the first Pacemaker that Oakville had ever been nominated for and won.
Now that OHS has been chosen as a finalist in the monthly broadcast category, that would be their second nomination for a national award in one year.
“Clearly what helps us is the quality of our content. Our balance is strong with news stories, profiles, and a lot of fun.” says Kuchno.
The students of the broadcast program are also very excited. Dan Altmann (12) was an anchor on the submitted broadcast and feels “shocked”. He said, “I feel very proud of Channel 97 News and the fact that we came together to be nominated for this award”. Austin Baumgartner (12), a photographer and one of the six returning members, feels that their chances of winning are “pretty good.”
The awards will be given at the Fall National High School Journalism Convention in San Antonio, TX from Nov. 15-18.
